Vivian was surrounded by people who loved and adored her, but no one knew she was suffering from childhood trauma, or that she barely slept—sometimes going days without any sleep at all. Even her closest friends had no idea she was suffering in silence. Tragically, when the darkness pressed in and became too much she took her own precious life, and we lost her forever.

Do you ever experience feelings of fear and anxiety? If so, you are not alone. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), over 40 million adults (19.1%) in the U.S. have an anxiety disorder.1 Although most people will occasionally experience mild symptoms of fear and anxiety, others may find their symptoms to be debilitating. While our symptoms may vary from mild to severe, for those of us who are believers in Jesus, we can find comfort in His presence.

I never got the father I longed for. And it made my heart sick for a very long time. I didn’t know I needed to process it. I didn’t even realize it was grief. After all, how can you grieve something you never had? But I’ve since learned - that’s not only possible, it’s necessary. For a long time, I pushed that grief down.

I cried out to the Lord and grieved for my hurting and grieving friend. In my weakness, I didn't know if I would have the right words to say

Pain has a way of twisting you up inside. Pain will make you do things that you didn’t think you were capable of.